By Chris Clow
It’s July once again, which means the massive Comic-Con International in San Diego is upon us, and will feature some of the biggest movies of the next year making their statements to fans in the iconic Hall H about why they should be excited for their upcoming releases.
Although Marvel Studios has decided to forego a traditional Comic-Con presentation, there are at least four other comics-based films that will be appearing in Hall H this year, so we thought it prudent to give an overview of those films and what we’d like to see at their presentations ahead of their actual bow in the San Diego Convention Center next week.
So, without further ado, here we go!
Fantastic Four
Release Date: August 7, 2015
Although Marvel Studios might be a no-show in Hall H this year, that doesn’t mean the massive, 6,000-seat room will be completely devoid of Marvel characters. The general feelings toward Josh Trank’s upcoming reboot/reimagining of the classic Marvel “first family” seems…tepid, to put it politely. Many fans seem concerned that it looks to go in a different direction when compared with both the traditional comics and the previous two films directed by Tim Story.
The Fantastic Four portion of 20th Century Fox’s Hall H presentation will need to convince the assembled core audience of fans that this is an adaptation worth exploring. We haven’t seen a whole lot of how the character interplay is going to go, nor have we seen a lot about what actually assembles these four people into the classic team. Hall H will be a unique opportunity for Fox to convince fans that Fantastic Four is more than just a reboot — they need to convince them that it’s a worthwhile new iteration of these classic characters.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Release date: February 5, 2016
The popular mash-up of Jane Austen’s timeless literary classic and the flesh-eating hordes of the undead first made its appearance in novel form by author Seth Grahame-Smith, reaching its core audience by going on sale in comic shops, and was later adapted into a comic book series by writer Tony Lee and artist Cliff Richards. Now, Screen Gems is preparing to distribute the film version of the mash-up, and it should prove to be an… interesting experience.
Placing together the story of lovers from different social classes with zombies was certainly an inspired choice, and it proved to be just as outrageous as the premise sounds. Hopefully the film’s Hall H presentation will bring some ghastly, clashing footage of the classic story, with some zombie craziness thrown in for good measure.
Deadpool
Release Date: February 12th, 2016
This film is also expected to be a component of 20th Century Fox’s wider Hall H presentation. With Deadpool on track for a release this coming February, the “Merc With a Mouth” will likely be a big part of Fox’s focus since all of the footage has been shot and can, conceivably, be partially shared with the assembled fans.
Deadpool is going to be an interesting experiment: a film based on a Marvel character going for a hard-R rating, something that’s only achieved marginal success in the past with the 2004 and 2008 cinematic adaptations of the Punisher.
Unlike the Punisher films, though, Deadpool will likely be more of an action-comedy, with the character’s trademark warped sense of humor and immense abilities on full display. Ryan Reynolds is no stranger to the Comic-Con crowd, and he knows how to get them excited. It should be fun to see how he pushes the forthcoming film in its highest profile fan event before release.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Release Date: March 25th, 2016
Likely the main event of Hall H if you’re a comic book movie fan, Warner Bros. is expected to pull out all of the stops as they make their last major case for a large audience of fans before the film is released. Although the response to Zack Snyder’s Superman film Man of Steel was a bit polarizing, Warner Bros. is hedging their best on the world it established by using that film as a jumping-off point to start a cinematic universe based on the characters of DC Comics.
Director Zack Snyder is excellent at giving presentations in Hall H, whether it’s for 300, Watchmen, or Man of Steel. He always manages to please the assembled crowd, and definitely wowed them last year with their first look at this film. Still, there are a fair amount of hold-outs who just aren’t convinced that Snyder will deliver on the promise of this film, but solid word-of-mouth from a great Hall H presentation will likely give the film a great amount of momentum heading into its release next March.
X-Men: Apocalypse
Release Date: May 27th, 2016
The last major film expected to show up during 20th Century Fox’s Hall H presentation, director Bryan Singer is still doing something of a victory lap over the massive success that was last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Having re-established the viability of the X-Men film franchise in its current form, Apocalypse looks to take things one step further by focusing on one of the biggest villains the team has faced in the comics.
Singer is also no stranger to popular Hall H presentations, having wowed the crowds there before with X2, Superman Returns, and Days of Future Past presentations. Since the film is in the middle of production, our first look at Apocalypse likely won’t feature too much in the way of footage, but you can likely bet on Singer choosing the best from what he has to whet fans’ appetites for the conclusion to the “First Class trilogy.”
Those are the five main films that have a basis in comics culture that will be on display in Hall H next week. What do you hope to see from each one? Will you be making the trek down to San Diego to see what the studios have in store? Leave a comment below, and we’ll see you next week in a brand new edition of Comics on Film!
Chris Clow is a geek. He is a gamer, a comic book expert and former retailer, the Junior Editor at GeekNation.com, and a freelance contributor to The Huffington Post and Batman-On-Film.com. You can find his weekly piece Comics on Film right here at Movies.com. Check out his blog, and follow along on Twitter @ChrisClow.
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